Piper's Third child
by Elennar9466
Summary: The story of an abused boy finding a home in the Halliwell manor
1. Chapter 1

_**Piper's Third Child**_

_**Chapter 1**_

San Francisco 2020

One particular Sunday morning found the 40 something Paige Mathews in the attic of the Halliwell Manor twirling an amethyst crystal over a map. She was scrying.

After 20 more minutes of her futile attempt, she threw down the crystal in sheer frustration.

As if in response to her action, a shower of bright blue orbs commenced right beside her.

It turned out to be her 18 year old nephew Wyatt. At 6'4" and a solid, muscular body, coupled with blonde hair that fell to his shoulders and a pair of warm, grey eyes, Wyatt; was by common consent, very, very HOT.

Sensing Paige's mood by virtue of his empathy, he commented conversationally, "You seem to be in a very good mood this morning, my dear aunt Paige."

"Ha, ha, I'm really amused now. It's just that I'm scrying for a boy that I met the other day, who I really wanna help."

"And you're scrying for him? You don't usually scry for your potential clients, do you?" Wyatt asked, slightly puzzled.

"No, I don't," Paige said, "but I have a feeling that the guy's a witch- and a powerful one at that. I think he's troubled somehow."

"Ah…" Wyatt answered very articulately. After 18 years of living with Paige, he knew that Paige's 'feelings' usually turned out to be correct.

"So, he's like what, 4 years old?" he asked his aunt. He was also following in his aunt's footsteps and shaping up his career as a social worker.

"No, of course not! I think he's around Chris's age." Paige answered him, "Maybe a year or two older at the most.

I wasn't even at work when I met him, actually. My lunch break was almost over and I was going back to my office from the cafe when my eyes met his (he was just passing by, you see). I didn't mean to stare, of course, but I ended up doing just that. His head snapped up! And, and, his eyes…they were so _haunted. _He had these beautiful, vivid, blue eyes, and they seemed to be full of pain.

Not just physical pain, mind you. But pain on so many different levels. And there was another thing- I had the distinct feeling of magick emanating from him. Not evil magick, though, but good." Paige finished her account and looked up to see her second nephew Chris standing at the door, listening attentively.

"Hey, when'd you get here?" Wyatt enquired of his 16 year old brother. "Sometime before the 'vivid, blue eyes part'", he answered, and then continued; now speaking to Paige-"Do you remember his face clearly?"

"Yep, every last detail", Paige answered, beginning to understand what Chris planned to do. Chris had an advanced form of empathy (the one area where he was stronger than even Wyatt) which allowed him to access people's memories instead of just their emotions.

Paige closed her eyes and Chris sat opposite to her, closing his. They held hands, and Paige, knowing what she had to do, concentrated with every ounce of her will power on her memory of 'the blue eyed boy'.

Soon, she had put it together, and Chris, using his power saw it clearly. Satisfied that the guy's face was now permanently imprinted onto his mind, he withdrew his power and opened his eyes, which was the cue for Paige to do the same.

"I see what you mean, Aunt Paige- he does have this 'haunted and pained' expression as you put it" Chris said.

"I can't say anything about the magickal part though. My empathy only lets me see and hear your memories, I can't sense what you sensed", he continued.

"Yeah, I know. But magick or not, we ought to help, if he needs it, at all that is. We have to keep it in mind, he never said anything to me directly." Paige said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, right! When was the last time your intuition let you down?" Wyatt quipped.

"Besides, people who actually need help don't go around parading their troubles, the better to alert any social workers lurking in the general area."

"Anyways, we'll see what we can do." Chris said, wincing almost instantly- he'd sounded WAY too sincere.

_Like a replica of his dad, _Paige thought, smiling to herself.

_**Chapter 2**_

It was Monday morning, Chris was unforgivably late for school and Piper Halliwell was banging on the door of her younger son's room for all she was worth.

"OI! YOU'RE GONNA BE LATE Y'KNOW! WHAT THE HELL'RE YOU DOING?" she said in wonderfully dulcet tones.

"Murdering someone and disposing off the body", pat came the reply from inside.

Piper sighed. Sarcastic was primarily what Chris was, period. After years of trying to correct him, she'd given up altogether.

_Better sarcastic than the leader of all evil, _Piper reasoned. After all, Wyatt nearly _had _turned evil, and Chris _did _come back from the future to save his brother. Of course, that had been another timeline, one which didn't exist now.

A little sarcasm, Piper had decided, won't and can't hurt anyone. The door finally opened and Chris came out, dressed in a white shirt and faded blue jeans. Leaner than his older brother, he was good looking too in his own special way.

Knowing all too well any further remarks would only get progressively more sarcastic comments from her son, she contended herself with giving him one of her trademark withering looks.

Chris cringed. Testing his mom's patience when she was already pissed wasn't exactly the world's safest occupation.

It was 5 pm when Chris got back from school. Greeting his mom with a monosyllabic "Hey!" he charged to the attic. Piper was unperturbed. She knew her son well enough to know that it was probably yet another demon that her son was intent on vanquishing.

She sighed. For the millionth time she wished that her sons at least, would have a little more stress free life. _He should be worried about girls at this age, not demons, _she thought with a twinge of sadness. Being a Charmed One herself, she knew full well the downsides of being a witch.

Once inside the attic, Chris sat cross legged on the floor. Closing his eyes, he breathed deeply, consciously relaxing every muscle of his body. Slipping deep into a meditative state, he opened his elder senses (his dad, Leo who was currently a mortal- a fallen angel to be precise- had been an elder when Chris had been conceived). Obviously, Chris had turned out to be part witch, part elder.

Extending his senses, he knew at once that his mom was in the kitchen and Aunt Phoebe was in her room. Of the two, Phoebe at once knew that she was being sensed- she was an empath (the regular kind).

Extending them still further, he focused all his energies on Paige's 'blue eyed boy', remembering his face, and above all those haunted blue eyes.

Sifting through all the denizens of San Francisco was cumbersome business- picking one mind out of thousands was obviously not an easy task. After a relatively superficial scan, he went even deeper, channeling more power into it.

At dinner an hour later, Chris could all but keep from falling asleep right on the table. "Sweetie, you O.K.?" Piper asked him, her mother's eyes noticing his fatigue almost immediately.

"It's nothing, mom. Just a little tired. I was trying to sense someone and just _couldn't. _Sensing always seems to take a lot out of m----e." , Chris answered her, trying to, but failing to stifle a huge yawn.

"Well, among all the whitelighter/elder powers, sensing _does _take a lot of energy to pull off, second only to healing.", said Leo, speaking up.

"Maybe", Wyatt said, joining the conversation, "we can do it together. You know, joining power."

"O.K., not to butt in or anything, but why the sudden interest in sensing?" asked Phoebe. "Oh, it's a certain 16 year old who Aunt Paige _feels _needs help." Wyatt answered his aunt, winking as he said 'feels'.

"Speaking of my blue eyed innocent, he was there on the exact same spot as he was on Saturday, except _he _was the one doing all the staring this time. Almost making up his mind about something." Paige, of course.

_**Chapter 3**_

His mother flicked her hand and Gabriel went sailing across his room, hitting the nearest wall. Hard.

Wincing, he started to get up, deciding not to notice the blood that was gushing from his scalp. Before he could successfully do it however, a dagger found its way into his shoulder, once again, courtesy of his mother.

"I WARNED YOU DIDN'T I? YOU DO NOT CONTACT ANYONE, YOU HEAR- NO ONE!" Gabriel's mom shrieked, approaching him.

"I-I d-didn't, I swear mom. I don't even know who she is, I p-promise!" he stuttered, backing away from his mother's almost homicidal anger.

She flicked her hand upwards, and Gabriel's shirt ripped, already oozing blood. He gave a whimper of pain. She repeated the process a few more times and consequently, he ended up with jagged cuts all over his body.

Throwing a glowering look at her son, her anger finally quenched, she stalked out of the room, taking care to lock the door behind her.

Thankfully left alone, Gabriel tore the dagger from his shoulder, grimacing with pain as he did so. Exhausted, starving and in pain, he covered his face with his hands and groaned.

_Stupid!_ He berated himself. He'd been stupid to think that mom wouldn't actually find out that he'd been contemplating escape, that he'd been thinking of contacting a witch.

Gingerly, Gabriel got up and limped his way to his 'bed', which consisted of a lumpy and uncomfortable mattress, an equally lumpy and uncomfortable pillow and a dirty bed sheet.

Dropping his bruised and throbbing body onto the mattress, he assessed the damage. His entire body ached and his head periodically sent out stabs of pain.

_At least, _he reasoned with himself, _nothing seems to be broken. And the bleeding's stopped too._

That was the one good thing that he could think about his miserable existence. His wounds seemed to heal at least ten times faster than normal. He suspected that magick was somehow involved. But as long as his mom didn't detect it, he wasn't complaining.

'NO MAGICK' was one of the most basic rules that he had to live by. Disobeying meant something on the lines of what his mother had just so unhesitatingly demonstrated. The woman who he called his mother only due to biological reasons didn't even tolerate accidental magick.

He still grimaced when he remembered what she had done to him when he'd used his telekinesis inadvertently five years ago.


	2. Chapter 2

**_O.K., forgot to go through the drill the last time around, so, here goes-_**

_**I do not own Charmed or any of its regular characters mentioned in this work. However, I do own Gabriel and his **wonderful** mom. **_

_**Last, but very definitely not the least, thank you to:-**_

**_Chuffy-barmed-oc, Silver of Melody, and Angelkat2502 for taking the time to review my work. Believe me, I wouldn't be continuing this if it weren't for you guys. Thanks, once again, and would love to hear more from you._**

_**Now, on with the story…**_

Last time…

_He still grimaced when he remembered what she'd done to him when he had used his telekinesis inadvertently five years ago._

This was the primary reason for his instinctive shunning of magick. Even thoughusing magick, he knew was in his blood, something he was _meant _to do, 16 years worth of pain had taught him to effectively block out his gut instincts.

His life always had been bleak, devoid of even a shred of happiness. At times, he'd even wondered the very _point _of getting up in the morning. _What's the damn **use, **_he had mused, _all that's gonna happen is me get hurt, again._

In the end, his mind just came up with one, smarting question- _why?_ What was it that he'd done, to his mom, or to the world? Why was the whole damn universe so hell bent on hurting him?

Truth be told, the very _fact _that his mom wanted to hurt him in the way she did, hurt him a lot more than the physical pain of the abuse.

After all, no pain can equal knowing the very woman who gave birth to you, enjoys your pain, your agony.

Feeling horribly cold all of a sudden, he drew the bed sheet closer to his body, with no discernible effect.

He felt a deep, burning sensation in his chest which seemed liable to make his very being implode. After a few moments, he realized what the feeling was- _hunger._ A voracious, unquenchable appetite to be loved.

He wanted to be loved, to be nestled in loving arms, to be told that it was O.K., that the ordeal was over. For God's sake, he wanted to have a reason to wake up in the morning, he wanted to look at his mother's eyes and see love there, instead of hatred!

For the billionth time, he wished that his life was more normal. He wanted his mother to love him, to make him feel safe and secure. He felt choked, suffocated by his life. All he wanted right then was to die, and to have it over with.

With an enormous effort, he regained his composure. Wallowing in self pity wasn't his favorite course of action. _It isn't worth it dammit!_ he thought, his former feelings of sadness giving way to anger. _If my dear mother enjoys seeing me suffer, then I'm not gonna give her that satisfaction, _he thought grimly.

_My life is my own. And I intend to live. I don't care how much I have to bear, but I'm getting outta this hell hole!_

His mind made up, he ferociously punched his pillow to flatten a lump, and forced his brain to shut down, and summoned sleep to himself.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Right, I don't own Charmed or any of the characters mentioned here, except Gabriel and his mom. Obviously, any characters, places, languages, etc that I may make up, automatically pass into my ownership._**

**_Hope you guys liked the last chapter. You won't believe how hard writing that was. I mean its one thing to narrate something, and another to write out someone else's feelings. Thank you to Person with the rainbow tea… and Silver of Melody for reviewing Chapter 2._**

**_This is somewhat a filler chapter, as I wanted to put in bits and pieces of the Halliwells' lives too. If you like Gabriel's character, don't worry, you'll have lots of him in forthcoming chapters._**

_**Chapter 4**_

_Last time… _

_His mind made up, he ferociously punched his pillow to flatten a lump and forced his brain to shut down, and summoned sleep to himself._

TRIIIIIING! The alarm clock in Chris' room went off, serving the purpose of shocking the 16 year old unceremoniously from his slumber.

He swore under his breath (no point in giving the details, it'd have to be censored, anyway) and considered blasting the accursed thing into the nearest wall, and finally giving it what it deserved.

He thought better of it, taking pity on the poor clock, and simply reached over to switch it off.

His sleep effectively interrupted, he got out his bed, pulling a t-shirt over his head, and dragged himself out of his room. He was _not _a morning person

(This was evident by now, anyways).

Making his way into the kitchen, he was met with the sight of his mom, a.k.a. Piper Halliwell, cooking breakfast. The thought of his mom's excellent cooking managed to brighten his mood somewhat.

Wyatt entered the kitchen, the picture of perkiness, and sat down at the kitchen table, greeting everyone in the general vicinity with a cheery, "G'morning!"

Chris answered his brother with a non committal snarl, earning a disapproving glare from his mother, to which he gave her 'what'd-I-do?' look.

"Your usual _shining _self, I see, bro. Jesus, you could freeze the sun with an attitude like yours in the morning. Boy do I feel sorry for the girl you'll marry someday." Wyatt said, making his voice extra perky, the better to annoy his brother.

Knowing full well that getting into a fight with his brother with his mom in the room couldn't end well( Piper seemed almost neurotic in her wish to see her boys get along, even a playful wrestling match seemed to upset her a lot),Chris just shot Wyatt a you're-a-dead-man-if-you-mess-with-me look.

Undaunted by his brother's less-than-friendly attitude, he laughed all the harder, knowing it'd annoy Chris more than he already was. "Aw…Peanut, don't be like that, people'll think you don't like your dear brother." Wyatt simpered, feigning a hurt expression.

"Don't. Call. Me. Peanut!" Chris growled through gritted teeth. He hated to be called by his nick name. Only Piper Halliwell took the liberty of calling him that, without any consideration for situations, it might be added here, causing no end of embarrassment in front of his peers.

Chris' cousins, Prue (Phoebe's child) and Melinda (Paige's daughter) entered the kitchen then.

These two were a constant source of exasperation for the two older Halliwells. At 13 and 12, respectively, 'the gruesome twosome' as the two brothers liked to call them, had the uncanny knack to turn up in situations where they were very _definitely not _needed. Ruining Chris' and Wyatt's dates made their day. Neither did they pass up an opportunity to show up in more, err, _compromising_ situations.

It was a joke between Wyatt and Chris that Prue and Melinda were conceived for the sole purpose of annoying the hell out of them.

Ah, well, a guy's got to do what a guy's got to do, you know? They had no choice but to bear with their cousins, and hope that they'd get better with time.

"Time to go to school, you guys. And, Wyatt! The number of times I've told you _not _to get crumbs on the carpet!" Piper bustled around, her usual neurotic clean freak self.

This was a unanimous cue for the teen witches to hastily get up, and orb themselves to Magick School as fast as their orbs could go. None of them had any intentions of being roped in to help with the cleaning- one of the slight inconveniences of staying with Piper Halliwell.

"Therefore, Shax was defeated by the reconstituted Charmed Ones, namely, Piper, Phoebe and Paige. However, it is important to note that…" Mr. Black's soporific voice droned on and on and on. Chris was gazing at the blackboard with his eyes out of focus.

_Sheesh, that guy makes Professor Binns from Harry Potter sound downright interesting, _thought Chris dully.

And just when Chris was seriously considering orbing out on the pretext of saving an innocent, the merciful bell rang, and he thanked his stars.

Next class was much better- spell crafting with his Aunt Paige. Writing out spells was a magical activity that he particularly enjoyed, and it showed. At 16, he was considered something of a genius, a prodigy, in Magick School.

"Tell me, Halliwell," said Paige, her eyes twinkling, using her 'teacher' voice, as she called it. It was a joke that she and Chris shared. Both would talk in exaggerated polite tones, "what is the moon phase and rune associated with a protection spell?"

"Hmm…_professor, _I think that would be the waxing phase and the rune _should _be Eolh (tracing a symbol that resembled an upside down Mercedes logo as he said it)"

And so the day continued, until at last the Halliwell kids came back to the Manor, to be greeted with delicious supper rustled up by Piper.

_Yep,_ Chris thought as he munched on his mother's heavenly lasagna, _life is good. _Trudging to his room, he stripped to his boxers, crashed onto his bed and was instantly asleep, oblivious to the rest of the world.


	4. Chapter 4

**_O.K., sorry for the 'his mind' glitch at the end of chapter 3, I've corrected it, and hopefully it won't confuse anyone else like it confused chuffy-barmed-oc._**

_**Once again, you know the drill- I don't own anything in this fan fiction, except whoever or whatever things that I make up, simple, no?**_

_**Thank you to all those people who've read and reviewed my work- it means a lot to me, and I hope you'll continue to like it.**_

_**A/N:-**_

_**Here's a note on the powers scenario:**_

**_Prue- telekinesis, astral projection, premonition._**

**_Melinda- tele-orbing (the telekinesis that Paige uses), temporal statis, and all whitelighter powers except healing._**

**_Right, by 2020, Paige can now heal without the help of a full whitelighter. She also does not need to call for objects anymore while using her T.K. _**

**_Chris can heal too. Besides regular telekinesis, he's inherited temporal statis from his mom, and invisibility and electricity from his dad. He can also cast a shield around himself, akin to Wyatt's, except that his is yellow in color. As for the advanced empathy thing, you already know about that one from the 1st chapter.( I've taken the trouble to make Chris more powerful than he was in the original timeline, the whole my-older-brother-is-a-thousand-times-stronger-than-me scenario never really found too much favor from me. What can I say; I'm just biased in his favor!)_**

**_As for Wyatt, he basically has his shield, both kinds of telekinesis, molecular combustion, regular empathy and the whitelighter powers._**

**_Piper can now freeze or blow up within a 1 mile radius; Phoebe's got back all three of her powers._**

**_Gabriel' mom (how I hate that woman, lol) has regular telekinesis and premonition._**

**_Gabriel doesn't have any active powers, yet. He will soon, though._**

_**And now, since I've tortured my readers long enough, let's get on with the story-**_

_Last time…_

_Trudging to his room, he stripped to his boxers, crashed onto his bed and was instantly asleep, oblivious to the rest of the world. _

**Chapter 5**

In another house of San Francisco, albeit a much less happier one, another 16 year old was sleeping too. And he was seeing something decidedly surreal in his sleep.

A woman, probably in her early thirties was standing before him, dressed in a golden white gown. Her beautiful brown hair seemed to be perpetually blowing in a gentle zephyr. She was smiling at him kindly, as if all she wanted to do was to help him.

_It hurts, _he thought, making a fist and indicating his heart, knowing instinctively that she'd understand and make him feel better. He trusted her, even though she'd done nothing to earn it, he just _knew._ He knew that she wouldn't hurt him, knew that she was there to help him.

In response to his thought, she reached out a loving hand to touch the center of his chest, and a warm, loving rush of energy radiated from her hand, coursing through his very being. He inhaled deeply, savoring the feeling.

_Thank you, _he thought to her. She smiled at him then, and he felt as if he could get lost in her smile for an eternity, forgetting his pain, his troubles, and just resting for once.

They spent what felt like an eternity together, even though it could've easily been just five minutes- time just seemed immaterial, wherever they were right then. They didn't talk- they didn't even need to. They were just beyond words. After all, words are hollow when the very _soul _decides to communicate directly with another.

And with each passing moment, his pain seemed to recede, to the point that he could just bear them.

He felt at peace. It was then that he heard her speak- her voice was strangely evanescent, fading almost as quickly as it reached his ears. And her accent… it was a soft, musical one, a multitude of notes, as if every sentence that she spoke was a song, "I know that you're in pain, Gabriel, I know how much your so called mother has put you through,", for the first time, a look of anger passed across her face as she referred to his mother, "but you have to be strong. It is your destiny to do wonderful things, Gabriel.

But in order truly help others, you must help yourself first. Go get help, Gabriel, go get help from the Halliwells."

_But how?_ He thought, _I'm worse than useless. I used to have telekinesis, but she bound that too._

"There is a spell," she told him, "one that will come to you instinctively. As for your mother, don't worry, magick has decreed that she won't get premonitions about this attempt of yours."

_But what if it doesn't work, what if I'm too weak?_ Gabriel asked her, his mind beginning to fill with doubts.

"It _will _work, Gabriel", she said, in a voice that soothed him more than anything ever had. "You have a tornado of power raging inside you Gabriel, never lose faith in yourself. You can accomplish anything that you set your mind to. Believe in yourself, in your magick, your power will never fail you" she told him, beginning to fade.

_Who are you?_ Gabriel asked her, sensing that this meeting would soon be coming to and end.

"My name is Prue." She answered him. One last smile and she was gone.

_**Well, did you guys like it? Review it, please! More will come up soon, if you guys like it enoughhint, you guys **_


	5. Chapter 5

_Last time…_

"_My name is Prue." she said. One last smile and she was gone._

_**Chapter 6**_

Gabriel woke up then, more peacefully than he ever had in his entire life. He lay on his bed for a few moments, mulling over Prue's words.

It never occurred to him to even _think _it had been just a dream, meaningless. He knew that it wasn't, just as surely as he knew that pleasure was good, and pain bad.

His _lovable _mother entered his room then, interrupting his musings. He looked at her terrified; surely she didn't know his train of thought, already?

"I'm going out." she said, in a voice that was not unlike nails on chalkboard for him, "and don't you dare leave the house while I'm gone."

"And believe me, I'll know if you do", she added ominously as she left, carefully locking (both magically and physically) the apartment door behind her.

Gabriel breathed again, and he felt his heart start up (he could've sworn both had stopped for the few moments his mom had been present).

"So, that proves one of Prue's claims right-mom didn't get a premonition. That means she probably won't get any as far as this little escapade of mine is concerned." He thought out lot.

"So, Prue's got to be correct about the spell thing too." He continued. He sighed. Being assured that he knew a spell instinctively was one thing. To actually bring it to mind was another.

"Maybe if I wish for it to come to me." He wondered out loud. So, feeling incredibly stupid, he deadpanned, "Spell, come to me!"

He waited a good 10 seconds hopefully, but knowing in his heart all the same that it wasn't working.

Fifteen minutes later, he had tried out a close to a million variations of 'spell, come to me!', without so much as a syllable coming into his mind. He felt like ripping his hair out in frustration.

"PRUE!" he bellowed, "How on _earth _am I supposed to remember this spell, when I don't even know _how _to remember! A little help would be _really _appreciated here, y'know!"

As if in response to his outburst, incomprehensible calm spread over his body, soothing his frustrated nerves. "Thanks, Prue", he said, smiling, because he knew for certain that it had been her.

Soothed and relaxed now, he sat down and purged his mind of all thoughts. He sat calmly, deliberately not thinking of anything at all- content to know that what he needed was coming and not stressing over the fact that it still hadn't.

If he had been familiar with whitelighters and their powers, he'd have known that this was the exactly the mind set that they used while trying to sense their charges.

And then, finally something happened. It was as if his tongue had been loosened, as if someone else was trying to speak through him- but he didn't feel threatened.

He calmly repeated the spell that came to his mind, even though he was pretty sure that he'd never known the words before-

"_**An bhfuil tú fúar,**_

_**Tá mé ag dul anois,**_

_**Nach bhfuil siad deas,**_

_**Tá muid álainn."**_

As he said the powerful words, he could sense power awakening inside him, he could feel the energy uncoiling and then he felt it leaving him and going out towards the cosmos, going out to accomplish the task he had asked them to do.

And accomplish their task they did. As soon as Gabriel had said the words, another witch had been affected by them, a witch by the name of Christopher Perry Halliwell.

Right at that moment, he had been in his aunt, Paige's class at Magick School. He gasped out loud as he felt the magick encompassing him. He knew at once of course that the magick wasn't intended to harm. Within a nanosecond, he had also found out all that he needed to know about the witch he'd been trying to sense and Paige trying to scry for a few days now, all that he needed to know to find him.

Looking down upon it all, Prudence Halliwell smiled.

**_And, oh yeah, the usual disclaimer goes for this chappy too._**

_**Thanks for the reviews that I've been getting.**_

_**The spell, in case you're wondering, is in Gaelic. As isolated sentences, they make perfect sense, but not in context. I wanted to make this spell a little more different than the commonplace English rhymes, so I chose this.**_

**_Unfortunately, I don't know enough Irish to actually write out a spell, so I just wrote in random sentences._**

_**Did you like it? Review please!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**O.K., the usual disclaimer, I don't own Charmed or any of its regular characters, however, I do own the characters, places, etc that I make up.**_

**_Thank you to the readers and reviewers; hope that you'll continue to be this wonderful._**

**_Now, let's get on with the story-_**

_Last time… looking down upon it all, Prudence Halliwell smiled._

_**Chapter 7**_

When the intense, gut wrenching after effects of the spell had finally abated, Chris found himself in his dad's (also known as the principal's) office- Paige had orbed him to Leo as soon as he had passed out.

Leo was looking at Chris, perhaps more concerned that necessary, the memory of an old grief stirring in his mind.

"Are you O.K., son? Can you tell us what happened?" Leo asked Chris gently, squeezing his son's shoulders soothingly.

"Yeah, what happened? One minute you were as right as rain, and the next, you passed out!" Paige asked, her mind was also on an incident that'd happened 16 years ago.

"I think it was a spell, dad", Chris said, and before his aunt and father could go on hyper mode, he hastily went on, "but, don't worry I could sense that it wasn't an evil spell, it wasn't intended to harm"

Leo wasn't too convinced. Anything that made his beloved son pass out was bad, as far as he was concerned. But he chose to remain silent and let his son continue-he had faith in Chris' judgment.

"I think the spell was cast by the same person who me and Aunt Paige had been trying to locate since Sunday" Chris continued, speaking to Paige now.

"What! How'd you know?" Paige questioned, surprised. Whatever reasons she had suspected for Chris' fainting fit, this very definitely wasn't it.

"I think it's a magical S.O.S." Chris said, smiling slightly at his aunt's surprise. Then his face becoming somber, his next sentence came out in nearly a whisper, "He's being abused by his mother"

"Abused? As in, how abused?" Paige asked, her social worker radar on hyper mode. "And why now, all of a sudden. Why didn't he do this earlier?"

"I don't know _that _Aunt Paige, maybe he didn't get the chance to do this until today. His mom has the power of premonition, maybe he _couldn't _do it 'cause she kept having premonitions if he tried to, and she foiled all of his attempts. Maybe, he finally found a way around it." Chris answered his aunt's questions.

"And he's being physically abused. His 'mother' beats the hell out of him, and she uses magick, to do it." The Halliwell continued, not bothering to mask the flame of anger that had erupted inside him.

To be abused by relative strangers was understandable, still very wrong, true, but to be hurt by your own _mother?_ Ouch! That really had to _hurt._

Fifteen minutes later, all three of the Charmed Ones along with Wyatt and Chris sat in the ever messy attic at the Halliwell Manor.

"Chris, are you _sure _that it's his _mother _who's doing this to him" Piper put the question before her son for the thousandth time.

Of all the sisters, this seemed to have affected her the most strongly. Her heart broke for the poor kid, and she felt that she had to help as soon as possible.

Of course, everyone present in the little get together thought so too, but Piper wanted to do it _now, _as in at that very moment.

"Piper, we can't just go barging in there, you know. It may cause a few fireworks, which could very easily translate to exposure. And besides, if we rush into it and then mess it up, we could get him into trouble with his mother. You don't want _that _to happen now, do you?" Phoebe tried to reason with her adamant older sister.

"Oh, all right. We'll make a proper plan, and _then_ do it, y'happy?" Piper finally gave in, seeing the logic behind her sister's words.

"Good. Now what we need is a plan. Got any?" Phoebe said, putting the question to all present.

"One of us could orb there," Chris suggested, "and seeing that I'm the one the spell contacted, I think I should be the one to do it" he said in a tone that clearly conveyed that he intended to go, no matter what, and his 'suggestion' was merely a formality.

Piper didn't miss her son's tone, and she knew that it was futile to try and argue with him, so she just said, "Just be careful, peanut. Someone who willingly hurts her son is capable of hurting anyone."

Chris rolled his eyes, giving his mother his trademark look. Then, focusing his mind on his destination, he orbed out.

When Chris' orbs neared his destination, he felt as if he'd just slammed into an invisible but very solid wall, which sent him flying straight back into the attic.

"CHRIS! What the hell happened? Are you all right?" Piper shrieked, ever the over protective mother.

"Unh…" her son answered. He was seeing stars at the moment, decidedly beautiful stars at that!

"A ward, the woman's set up a ward around the house." Chris finally said, the stars having dissipated.

Both Paige and Wyatt tried to orb to the place, then. And unfailingly met with the same fate as Chris.

"So orbing's very definitely ruled out" Wyatt commented, rubbing his head which had bore the brunt of the impact.

"D'you think it's impregnable to astral projection?" Chris said, getting a sudden brainwave.

All the Halliwell witches could astral project, even though all of them didn't have it as an active power in the way Prue did (or had, in the dead Prue's case)

There were downsides of using it though. Since it wasn't an active power, it took a lot of energy, and left them exhausted. Therefore, they'd wisely reserved it for only emergencies. And this, seemed to qualify as one.

Chris sat down on the floor of the attic, concentrating on moving _out _of his body, without moving his physical self an inch.

In a moment, he felt it happen, and looked back to see his now unconscious body slumped on the attic floor.

Concentrating once again on the apartment, he felt his astral self leave the Manor for his target. He braced himself for a resistance, just in case his theory was proved wrong.

Instead, he found himself in a room, and directly opposite to him sat 'the blue eyed innocent', as he'd taken to calling him in his head.

"Who're you?" Gabriel asked uncertainly, trying to make his voice sound tough. In his heart though, he knew that this 16 (he guessed the age) year old stranger could only mean a reprieve for him.

"I'm Chris.", the stranger said, clearly feeling as awkward as Gabriel felt himself. "And I'm here to help you."

**_So, did you like it? R&R, please!_**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Once again, the usual disclaimer, I don't own Charmed, but I do own characters, places, languages, etc that I make up.**_

**_Thanks for the reviews, you guys! Keep up the good work! R&R, 'k?_**

_**Now, let's get on with the story…**_

_Last time…_

"_My name is Chris" the stranger said, clearly feeling as awkward as Gabriel felt himself "and I'm here to help you."_

_**Chapter 8**_

"So, what's your name?" Chris asked the guy standing before him gently. "I'm Gabriel," he said as he held out his hand to Chris, already starting to like him.

"Um… nice to meet you, Gabriel" answered Chris, shaking Gabriel's hand.

It felt pathetically ill suited for a situation such as this one, but nothing doing. It wasn't as if he'd rehearsed this conversation before hand, right?

Chris studied the 'blue eyed innocent'. Dirty blonde hair framed his square jawed face. He was thin, thinner than even Chris was himself. As he had already seen, courtesy of Paige's memory and his own empathy, Gabriel had startlingly brilliant blue eyes, even brighter than his brother, Wyatt.

He saw pain there, lots of it. But also an indomitable spirit, an ocean of rock solid strength. There was a darting play of intelligence in his eyes, swift and thirsty for knowledge.

Chris could also tell that there was a bonfire of power raging inside him, waiting to be schooled, to be harnessed. But that power was tempered by kindness, by the ability to love. He knew for certain, then that Gabriel could never really be turned, thirsty though he was for magical knowledge.

"Did you cast any spells today?" Chris put the question before Gabriel, deciding to cut straight to the chase, feeling that his silent scrutiny of him had gone on long enough.

"Uh, I did, actually. Except that I don't know exactly what it was supposed to do, it didn't harm anyone, did it?" Gabriel answered him, starting to get apprehensive about the spell and its effects.

"No, no, of course not." Chris assured him, thinking it was best not to tell him that the spell had caused him to pass out for a good ten minutes.

"It was just a magical version of an S.O.S." Chris continued, "Where'd you get it? Did you make it up, yourself?"

"No, actually" and with a little hesitation (didn't want to give his potential savior the idea that he was mental), "it came to me instinctively."

"Oh, well, that can happen. And no, you're not crazy" Gabriel's hesitation had not gone unnoticed by Chris. As for the instinctive knowledge of the spell, although it was decidedly weird, it wasn't unheard of.

And that was when he noticed his Gabriel's bruises. As he was currently wearing a thin, white shirt, without anything underneath, the jagged cuts on his body were glaringly visible.

"How did you get those?" Chris asked him, gesturing to his bruises, praying that he was doing the right thing by asking him this.

16 years of living with a part time social worker (a.k.a. Paige Matthews) had taught him that certain things got abused people _really _upset, which was pretty much the last thing he wanted to happen right now.

Gabriel hung his head in shame for a moment, before saying in a voice which Chris had to strain to hear, "My mom did those." _Like it was **his **fault that his mom was such a bitch! _Chris thought angrily.

Unsure of what to do for a moment, Chris finally wrapped his arm around Gabriel's shoulders, trying to offer him some comfort.

Chris wouldn't usually do that to relative strangers, but the person next to him was obviously badly in need of a helping hand, that he didn't hesitate to do it.

And it was as if a dam had broken inside Gabriel. In a rush of tears and words, he recounted everything that he had gone through. All the pain, the misery; everything.

He was vaguely aware that he was crying his heart out in front of someone who he'd just met, but he was totally beyond shame by then.

The deep wounds that his own _mother _had given him had sort of put things like shame and pride into perspective.

Finally his tears ceased, and he felt a little better. Wiping his tears on the sleeve of his shirt, he mumbled a sheepish "Sorry" to Chris.

"Don't mention it." Chris waved off the apology. "We can all do with a good cry, now and then. No good ever came of bottling up emotions, you know, it isn't healthy." The Halliwell told the other witch soothingly.

"So, now that I've pretty much told you about my life, tell me something about yours. How's your family like?" Gabriel asked Chris, smiling wryly.

"Well, I've got a pair of _very_ protective parents, Piper Halliwell and Leo Wyatt and an equally, if not more, protective older brother, Wyatt.

I've got two aunts from mom's side, Paige and Phoebe." Chris finished his narrative.

"That sounds nice. And you guys are all witches too?" Gabriel asked the other witch, with a twinge of jealousy.

"Everyone except my dad, he's a mortal" Chris clarified, deciding not to get into the whole fallen angel story right now.

"So do you have any powers, Gabriel?"

At this question, a wave of sadness passed over his face, and Chris instantly regretted having asked the question.

"I used to have telekinesis, but mom used some kind of a potion to block that. God, I still remember the day when she did it. She forced me to drink down a brown colored potion. And when the effects kicked in… it was like this- this vice was closing around my chest- I had to fight for every breath. And there was this piercing pain in every fiber of my being, as if I was dieing.

I passed out then, and I was probably out for a few hours. When I came to, I found that I didn't have telekinesis anymore."

Chris shuddered inwardly. Binding a witch's magick was never a pretty business, more so if the witch was completely innocent, and it was done without his/her consent.

After all, effectively blocking out an integral part of yourself can never really be painless, can it?

"Gabriel, me and my family can help you escape. Believe me, protecting innocents is what we're good at." Chris offered the proposition.

"Really? You will?" Gabriel looked incredibly happy for the moment, and then his face fell. "But what about mom? What if she comes after you guys? Saving me can put you and your family in danger."

"I wouldn't worry about that too much, you know. We'll deal with her, by the by."

Chris grinned an evil grin. Gabriel's mother might be a strong witch, but she can never equal the Halliwells. Any one of the Halliwells would be able to crush her with the power of their little fingers.

Not that he _enjoyed _vanquishing evil, or at least more than necessary. But Chris was beginning to think that he would particularly enjoy this little battle with that evil.


	8. Chapter 8

**_Once again, the usual disclaimer, I don't own Charmed or any of its regular characters neither do I own any of the spells, practices, etc, depicted therein, I do own Gabriel and his mom._**

_**Thank you to the people who're taking the time to read and review my work, YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!**_

_**Now, let's get on with the story…**_

_Last time…_

_Not that he enjoyed vanquishing evil, or at least more than necessary. But Chris was beginning to think that he would particularly enjoy this little battle with that evil._

_**Chapter 9**_

"O.K., first of all, we need to disable the ward that your mom set up around the house." Said Chris, suddenly all business.

"Um, what exactly is a 'ward'?" Gabriel asked him, clearly confused.

"It's just a magical way of stopping someone from exiting or entering a certain place. Another witch can't reverse it from outside, but it's fairly easy to reverse it if you're _within _the area the ward covers." Chris ranted off at top speed.

"I understand," Gabriel said, not understanding at all.

"A simple spell is all that's needed," Chris said matter of factly, and then a little apologetically, he added, "Which will come to me eventually."

"I don't get it. Why don't you take me with you in the same way that you came here." Gabriel voiced his idea.

"That would be because I astral projected here. Technically, _I'm _not here, my soul is." Chris said, as if this were the most mundane thing in the world.

"Can all witches do it?" Gabriel asked, interested. He was learning more about magick from Chris in a few hours, than he'd learned from his mom in 16 years.

"Sure, it just needs a little training and practice, that's all there is to it."

Five minutes later, Chris had successfully remembered and cast the spell to undo the ward. An evanescent glow had filled the apartment as the spell had been worked, leaving the flat to feel less like a fortress.

"Great, now we can just get someone to orb you to…" Chris was cut off by the arrival of a very angry witch at the door.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING WITH MY SON! GABRIEL, _EXPLAIN _YOURSELF, NOW!" the woman shrieked.

Chris bit his lip. On his side, Gabriel had visibly paled. He was pretty much helpless in a situation like this, without any active powers, and no working knowledge of magick as such. So was he himself, he couldn't use astral projection and his active powers together. And he was very reluctant to leave Gabriel at a time like this. So he chose to do what he always did to get himself bailed out of trouble.

"WYATT MATHHEW HALLIWELL! ORB YOUR TWICE BLESSED ASS DOWN HERE, _NOW_!" he shrieked up to the ceiling, the decibel level of his voice matching Gabriel's mother's.

A moment later, bright blue orbs appeared right beside Chris, materializing to reveal the form of his older brother. "You called, bro?" Wyatt remarked conversationally, his piercing blue eyes gauging the situation.

"I did, orb our friend here to the Manor, will you, Wy?" Chris spoke to his sibling.

Wyatt nodded briefly, and then orbed out with Gabriel, presumably in the direction of the Halliwell Manor.

"As for you," Chris said, turning to the woman who was by now looking as if she could cheerfully butcher Chris alive, "as much as I'm tempted to say a spontaneous combustion spell, I'm afraid that this will have to do-

**_Let this witch, as quick as a breeze,_**

**_Be affected by this spell, and freeze_**"

She now looked as if she'd just been hit by his mom's temporal statis. Quickly, he wrote down a note, and made sure that the now frozen witch would see it the moment she thawed. The note read-_ your son is now under the protection of the Halliwells, come after him and you will suffer the consequences. _Satisfied, the Halliwell witch astralled out.

Meanwhile at the Manor, Wyatt had orbed in to the attic with Gabriel, to the sight of Chris' unconscious body slumped on the floor, now cushioned by pillows. Gabriel was shocked for a moment, and then remembered the thing about the astral projection Chris had told him about.

"Um, I want you to meet my mom, Piper Halliwell, and her two sisters, Phoebe and Paige." Wyatt told him, gesturing to the other inhabitants of the attic who had gone hitherto unnoticed by him.

"Hi!" said all three of the sisters together, their voices cheerful. Gabriel turned around, and looked at them, and was instantly struck by the thought that these women seemed stronger when they were together.

In fact, without even meaning to, Gabriel was just sensing The Power of Three.

"Um, hi, my name is Gabriel." He said shyly, already aware that they were seriously powerful witches.

"Well, I'm Piper," spoke the eldest Charmed One, "and they're my sisters Phoebe and Paige.", gesturing to each of her sisters as she spoke their names.

"Call us by our first names, please." Quipped an overly age conscious Phoebe, who was rewarded with a now-is-not-the-time-for-your-vanity look from Piper.

"Will do, Phoebe." Gabriel told her, suppressing a chuckle. He was beginning to relax around the Halliwells. _They haven't tried slamming me into the nearest wall yet, so I **think **I can trust them, _he thought.

Right at that moment, Chris woke up from his stupor- his astral self had traveled back to his body. "Gabriel!" was the first thing he uttered as he came to. Sitting up, he caught sight of the person in question, and smiled at him.

"You, O.K.?" Gabriel asked Chris, concerned about the encounter between him and his mother, which he knew must've occurred.

"I'm fine," Chris told him airily, "I just froze her, that's all"

And then he remembered Gabriel's wounds, and holding out his hand over his body, he said, "Here, let me fix those." A warm, yellow glow emanated from the witch whitelighter's hands, and Gabriel felt the wonderful sensation of relief flooding his entire being.

Within a good 10 seconds, Gabriel found that his body no longer had any wounds on them.

"Thanks" he told Chris, marveling at the feats of magick he had been witnessing all day. Suddenly tired, he yawned, and tried to stifle it, but failed miserably.

It didn't go unnoticed by Piper. "You look exhausted, Gabriel. Tell you what, I'll fix you some dinner, and then you can have the guest room all to yourself." She told him, her maternal instincts already at work.

Gabriel tucked in really well to the delicacies Piper had rustled up for him. Too well, in fact.

"When was the last time you ate, Gabriel?" the Halliwell matriarch asked him gently.

She was the met with the same look of shame that her son had gotten earlier that day. "Last morning" he told her quietly. It was nearly 8 pm at night then.

She gently squeezed his shoulder and smiled reassurance at him. Piper seemed very familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place why. After a moment, he got it. Piper's face bore an uncanny resemblance to Prue's. Thinking it was just a coincidence, he dismissed the thought from his mind.

In another ten minutes, he was sleeping soundly in the guest room. Piper stood in the doorway for a minute. She silently studied his peaceful form. _He's so innocent; _she thought sadly, a sadness which was tinged by anger. _Why would anyone want to hurt him like that?_ She shook her head, and then headed for the attic, where she knew her family had congregated.

"So, what do we do now?" she asked her sisters who were seated in old armchairs. "Well, I could sense a lot of power coming from him, and so could Chris." Phoebe told her sister, "Don't you think we should tell the Elders?" she continued.

Piper nodded her agreement, and looked at her youngest sister, "Why don't you fill in the Elders on this, Paige?"

Paige nodded briefly and was gone in a swirl of blur orbs.

She returned a full twenty minutes later, an Elder in tow.

"You won't _believe _what I just heard about her innocent, back there!" she told her sisters excitedly.


	9. Chapter 9

**_The usual disclaimer, I don't own Charmed or any of the characters except the ones that I made up._**

_**Thank you for all those WONDERFUL reviews, you guys! The response that I'm getting is really encouraging, thanks again!**_

_**And Persephone, don't worry. I have something far better planned for Gabriel's mother than vanquishing, or should I say, far more painful?** Dum, dum, dum! _

_**And, no, he isn't adopted; you'll find out in this chapter exactly what he is.**_

**_And another thing, there is a small reference to rape in this chapter- there isn't any description, though. Is T rating fine for this? Just wanted to know, because I'll have to change the rating if it isn't._**

_Last time…. "You won't believe what I just heard about her innocent, back there!" she told her sisters excitedly._

_**Chapter 10**_

"Gabriel," the elder said, in the slightly condescending voice that the sisters found most infuriating, "is one of many prophesized people. In our language, we call them the Asfànóth, the Vessels."

"The _vessels? _ The vessels of what, exactly?" Piper questioned the Elder impatiently. Showing remarkable patience in almost every other situation, she seemed to have a distinct lack of it when it came to a situation involving an Elder or two.

"You see," the Elder began to explain hastily, knowing all too well Piper Halliwell's temper (or the lack of it) "magick was created roughly 5000-6000 years ago, within the Egyptian empire. Legend has it that the first bit of magick ever called into existence was in the form of fire, the Asastrú, or the Flame of Magick.

From it, sprang all the other different kinds of magick that there are today, but the Asastrú was the first, and the most potent. Usually, it exists solely on the Astral Plane, but every other millennia, it crosses over to the Physical Plane, by fusing itself with an Ashfànóth. Vessels can be either good or evil, the Asastrú itself is neutral.

In fact, the process alternates. If in one instance the Flame decides the side of evil, in the next it will choose the side of good. Luckily for us, the last vessel was evil, so obviously, Gabriel is good."

"So, if he's so powerful, how come it took him 16 years to escape from his demon (not literally, though) of a mother. And Chris tells us that she bound his telekinesis five years ago." Phoebe quipped. The Elder was scandalized for a moment, and then answered,

"That would be because he is vulnerable as long as he does not _know _what he is himself. His powers have barely developed, once he can give full reign to his abilities, he will be almost invincible."

"And what happens if a demon tries to take this Flame thingy from him, now? When he's still vulnerable?" Piper asked, knowing from sheer experience that it probably involved the apocalypse or something similar.

"If evil takes it now, when he is too weak to call it back to himself, it will cause a serious imbalance of power, and bring about the end of creation." The Elder said ominously.

Piper muttered an indistinct 'knew it!' under her breath, and said out loud, "Thank God, demons haven't taken him yet."

As if on cue, they heard a crash from the guest room, followed by a furious "LET ME GO!" from Gabriel.

"Just had to open your big mouth, didn't ya, sis?" Phoebe told her sister as they ran to the guest room.

They were met with the sight of a completely demolished room, which, for once, was totally lost on Piper, and the absence of Gabriel.

"I'll go get a map of the Underworld." Paige said, orbing to the attic.

"And I'll go get crystals" Phoebe quipped, following her older sister to the attic.

The Elder, predictably, had already orbed out, leaving Piper to mutter, "Give him a break, will you? He's been through a lot already." Addressing the complaint to no one in particular, before she too, headed for the attic.

Gabriel found himself tied to a rock in a very dark cave. After those demons had gotten hold of him, they'd hit him with a spell of sorts which had caused him to pass out.

When he had come to, he found himself as we find him now. A demon appeared then, dressed in black robes. He was looking with Gabriel with a kind of hungry expression, which creeped out the witch considerably. He would have much preferred an angry expression- something that he was used to.

"Exactly what do you want from a weak witch, such as me? Why not go for someone stronger?" Gabriel asked his captor, in an attempt to stall whatever that was in store for him.

The demon smiled at him then, one which could effortlessly freeze even the most cheerful of hearts. "My dear witch, you are far from weak. In fact, you are the strongest witch alive. Strong, and inexperienced, that is a very fatal combination for you, a useful one for me."

"I don't have any powers, my mom bound those when I was 11 years old, and you've probably made a mistake." He said desperately, not wanting to die, now that he'd been offered the chance of a new life by the Halliwells.

"Tut, tut. Desperate, are we now? No, witch, I have made no mistakes. You are the Asfànóth, the vessel. You, my dear, hold the greatest force of magick there is, stronger than anything, else. A force that will soon be mine." He smiled an evil smile then, which would've put Dracula to shame any day.

"This might hurt, somewhat." He continued, now beginning to chant harsh, frightening words that Gabriel knew was a spell,

"**_Azkarth, khé zù marthakht,_**

_**Phe núil, se meràh, khé tuil."**_

As the demon completed the spell, a piercing pain commenced in his chest- he felt as if a cold hand was squeezing his heart relentlessly. The feeling was something akin to when his powers had been bound, but a thousand times worse.

He felt as if something was being torn out of him. White light erupted from his body, and it hurt Gabriel like hell.

The enormous power was now leaving him, and he felt his energy leaching away from him. When the pain became almost unbearable, he closed his eyes and prayed that he died, and an end would come to this agony.

However, soon the process was over and Gabriel was left feeling horribly weak, his entire body stinging and aching.

He beheld his captor, who now emanated an aura of tangible power. It was that moment that the Charmed Ones orbed in at the scene.

"Gabriel!" Piper called out as soon as the orbs materialized, "Don't worry! We'll get you out of this mess!"

The demon laughed then, and said, "For once, Charmed Ones, you're too late. The Asastrú is now mine." Without further ado, he flicked his hand, and the Charmed Ones went flying across the cave.

Piper hit the cave wall, and blacked out. The demon advanced towards her, a fire ball already conjured in his hands. Her sisters tried to get up and help her, but found themselves powerless to do so. It was as if strong hands were forcing them to stay where they were.

"I'm going to enjoy doing this, Piper Halliwell. This is for all the demons that you've vanquished over the years."

Gabriel watched the scene before him, and panic filled him. _No, I can't let Piper die! _ he thought desperately. In his fear, Prue's words came to him- _Believe in yourself, in your magick and your power will never fail you._

It was then that something in him snapped. Knowing that this would work, he chanted an impromptu spell,

"**_What is rightfully mine, I call back to myself._**

**_Asastrú, I call to you- return to thy temple."_**

Immediately, the demon shrieked, as the stolen power within him fought to return to its rightful owner. In a flash of fire, he was vanquished, and the Asastrú, the Flame of Magick flowed back to the Ashfànóth. Paige and Phoebe were humbled as the force passed them by- they were beholding the source of all the magick in the entire cosmos.

It fused back with Gabriel, and he felt his pain melting away, and a sense of calm settling in his body. He looked at the chains that were binding him, and focused, the chains disappeared in a swirl of blue white particles.

He ran to Piper, as did the other two Charmed Ones, no longer bound by the demon's power. Placing one hand on Piper's forehead, Gabriel muttered, "**_Heal_**.", focusing his magick on healing Piper.

Warm, white energy flowed from his hand into Piper's body, sealing her wounds. Presently, her eyes fluttered and she regained consciousness.

She smiled at Gabriel, as she knew that he was the one who'd healed her. He smiled back at her, relieved. The three older witches quickly filled him up on what they'd heard from the Elder. Gabriel just looked shocked, not finding any words to say.

"Let's get you back." Paige said, and orbed the four of them to the Halliwell Manor, more specifically, the guest room of the Halliwell Manor.

They found Gabriel's mother standing in the guest room, surrounded by spelled crystals, guarded by Wyatt and Chris.

Gabriel visibly paled, like he'd just seen a very scary ghost, but chose to put on a brave face, he now possessed a new found confidence.

"It was her, mom." Wyatt told Piper, "She heard what the Elder said to you about Gabriel, and alerted the demons who took him"

"I hope he hurt you! And I hope you get all the pain of the world, I hope that you never know what peace is!" the woman cried to Gabriel, her face the epitome of cruelty.

A heart wrenching expression of pain and anger passed across Gabriel's face, and he spoke, his voice barely above a whisper, "Why do you want to hurt me so much? What is it that I've done to you? Why?"

"_Why? You're asking me why?"_ she shrieked.

"I HATE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE THE LIVING REMINDER OF THE MOST HORRIBLE THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO ME!" she screamed, now.

"16 years ago another witch befriended me, got me to trust him." She practically spat at the boy, her voice dripping hatred.

Piper could see where this was going, and she didn't like it one bit. She edged closer to Gabriel and slipped her hand into his, giving it a small squeeze of reassurance.

"Then one night, he invited me to his voice, and there….there, he…he" she seemed to choke for a moment, and then continued, "He _raped_ me! He violated me, and scarred me for life. When I found that I was pregnant, I made up my mind that I'd take revenge for what he did to me. I swore to myself that I'd scar you in the same way that _bastard_ scarred me! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!" her voice was now raised again.

Gabriel looked like someone had hit him with a saucepan. _No, no, no,_ he kept repeating in his head like a tape, refusing to let in the pain, refusing to think about the implications of what he'd just been told.

Piper found herself speaking to the woman, her voice laced with anger, "Whatever that man did you to _was _very wrong, but it still doesn't excuse what you did to Gabriel. Don't you see? _It isn't his fault! _ If you had decided to take revenge, you could've taken it on the person who did this to you, why take it out on an innocent child?"

Only huge self control kept Piper from blowing up this woman on the spot. In her extreme anger, a vase exploded, and they all jumped.

At that precise moment, two Elders orbed into the room. "Elizabeth McEwen," they said, looking at the woman who stood before them, "the Elders have come to a decision regarding your actions. To bind an innocent witches' magick out of pure spite is the worst imaginable crime that another witch can commit. The fact that the witch in question is also an Ashfànóth makes your crime even more heinous, as your actions could easily have ended creation.

Therefore, we condemn you to an eternity of suffering in limbo." They lifted their hands, pointing at Elizabeth, and she screamed, in a flash of violet light she was gone.

Their job done, the elders left.

Piper slung her hand over Gabriel, then, and motioned to the others in the room to leave.

After they had, she looked at him. He was looking at the floor, fighting to prevent breaking completely into tears. She gently traced her thumb across his face, across his square jaw, his strong chin.

"Gabriel, you've gone through more pain than anyone should ever be allowed to at _any_ age, let alone when you're so young. I know that the kind of pain that you're feeling right now is almost unbearable, and it will probably never truly go away. But, honey, if you'll let us, me and my family can help you to lessen the pain somewhat.

If you'll let us, we can be your family."

That was all it took. He sobbed then, his entire body reeling from grief. Grief for the family that he never had, for the mother that he never had.

Between his sobs, he told Piper, "W-when I was l-little, I-I used to i-imagine wh-what my mother w-would be like. A-and you're all of that. You're a f-fantastic woman, a wonderful m-mother, Wyatt and Chris are really lucky, you know."

Piper's heart broke then. Gently, he stroked his hair fondly, and kissed his forehead in the way she used to do for Wyatt and Chris when they were younger.

"I'll be your mother, Gabriel. Believe me; I'll never hurt you, ever."

She tucked him into bed herself. He was asleep in a moment. She smiled at his sleeping form, and thought lovingly, _my third child._

Going outside, she found the entire family waiting, proving her guess right. "Gabriel's going to stay here now." She told them matter of factly, and her family needed no further explanation.

Wyatt and Chris exchanged a high five, this was exactly what they'd been hoping for.

That night Piper dreamt that Prue was with her, and she was smiling. _Take care of your newest son, Piper._ She said to her younger sister.

"Don't worry, I will." Piper murmured in her sleep.

_**THE END**_

**_So, how was it? A little corny, I know, but I can't seem to be able to make it un-corny._**

_**o.k., I need a poll. Should I do a sequel to this? Like the adventures of Gabriel, or something on those lines?**_

_**Please review, and tell me what you guys think, O.K.?**_


End file.
